Green Thumbed Vagabond

Tag Archives: toad lily

“A Plant a Day till Spring” will highlight one plant a day, starting on the winter solstice (December 21, 2013)… And ending on the vernal equinox (March 20, 2014)… If all goes to plan I will be starting with old Snowdrop photos from 2013… And ending with new photos of Snowdrops in 2014…

This post got away from me quick… Toad Lily is a slow grower… It remains boring for most of the year… Towards the end of Summer it begins to bloom… This plant really only requires shade… No water… Fertilizer… Or even care… If anything it could benefit from a bloom boosting fertilizer around… Say Mid-August… But other than that it is one care-free momma…

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Toad Lily is another favorite of my girlfriend… We were hanging out at our favorite local farm/nursery “Soergel Orchards in Wexford, PA” a few summers ago… They are close friends of ours and honestly… They have done so much to help my efforts in the neighborhood… Well… The idea of buying anything “garden related” from anyone else just sickens us a little bit… Anyway… Towards the back of a row of perennials was a pot with a single white flower… From 50′ away I knew what it was… And I knew I had to have it…

Aware of the rarity of this particular plant (not actually rare)… And the high value of it (3 for $15.95)… I knew I would not be the only being in search of this particular specimen… I casually stepped away from the group… Never making eye contact with anyone… And never putting eyes on the plant as it could possibly give away the position of the object of my desire…

Although the walk was only 50’… It felt like 50 miles… Every crack in the pavement a canyon… Every insect an enemy… Nothing was going to stand between me and my destiny… Towards the end of the row I met my first road-block… A group of older ladies stopped me in my tracks… They will not let me pass unless I can answer a few questions… Number one… Do I work here? (I always get asked this anytime I am in a nursery – everywhere I go – I guess I just look the part) And number two… What is this plant? I answered with a smiling “no”… Then I answered the other question… And then all the rest of their questions…

After a few moments of this… They were satisfied with my answers to their riddles and let me pass… I had finally made it to my toad lily… And to my surprise… There were three of them… Only one had a blossom… All three were perfect… As I sat clutching the three plants I heard a gasp over my shoulder… As I read the name on the tag “Tricyrtis”… One of the ladies I was just talking to muttered the same word at the same time I was reading it… “Tricyrtis”…

Before I could grab my plants and run… I was again surrounded… Questions were flying… Stories were shared… Memories were brought up… And before I knew it I was out my three plants… I was bummed about losing my plants… But the woman had gained a memory… And three conversation plants…

As I accepted defeat and walked back to my girlfriend with my head low… The owner of the farm asked what was going on with me and the ladies… I smiled and told him I lost my Toad Lily… He pointed up the hill and asked if I had looked up in the other perennial aisle…

These “Plant a Day Till Spring” posts are simply intended to kill time until spring when I start writing more… My source (where applicable) is Wikipedia.org… The photography is all my own… And I am adding my own information…

This website and all of the information presented within is provided free by the author… Me… It is my sole opinion and is not representative of anyone other than myself… You can contact me directly with questions at – c.condello@hotmail.com

Today, I spent four hours hiking around Frick Park looking for wildflowers. Although the flora was few and far between, I managed to find inspiration in all kinds of places. I plan on taking weekly wildflower/art walks in Frick Park for the rest of the season, my goal is to photograph and identify all the native flowers of Frick Park…

I have a goal of photographing a few native orchids this spring, I will need advice on places to look for them. If you can offer some tips, please email me… Do not post location info in my comments… Please email them ONLY…

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I am Chris Condello and I am a master gardener, urban farmer, author, photographer, guerilla activist and artist living in Pittsburgh, PA. I prefer to write about me, but I may write about you... Enjoy!